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To bring awareness to the factors that impact radicalization, NDI supported Niger’s National Center for Security and Strategic Studies (Centre National d’Etudes Stratégiques et de Sécurité - CNESS) as it undertook a study on the vulnerabilities to radicalization among youth in Niger. The study was carried out by a team of consultants who worked with regional field researchers to conduct interviews with 2,376 young people aged 18 to 40. The interviews were complemented with 25 focus groups and interviews with religious groups, traditional leaders and local security experts.

Within the span of seven days, the world lost two giants who stood for freedom and human dignity — Senator John McCain and former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. They were public servants who dedicated much of their their lives to upholding universal values, and advancing democracy and human rights. This is a time when we remember the causes to which they were dedicated and honor their legacies. NDI is proud to have worked with Kofi Annan and his foundation in efforts to promote electoral integrity.

On September 4th, 2018, former Ambassador Derek Mitchell will become NDI’s new president, taking over the reins from international democracy trailblazer Ken Wollack. In announcing the Board of Director’s decision, NDI Chairman Madeleine K. Albright said:

Political parties play an essential role in a democracy, for which they must exercise good leadership, conduct regular outreach to their constituents, and demonstrate that government is delivering on citizen concerns. When parties cannot fulfill this role, democracy suffers.

More than 1 billion people – approximately 15 percent of the world’s population – experience some form of disability. They are the world’s largest marginalized group, and face significant accessibility and representation challenges that limit or restrict their equal participation in nearly all aspects of society. At the first Global Disability Summit – held last week in London – self-advocates, governments, international institutions and business leaders from around the world convened to raise attention about the scale of disability exclusion and secure new commitments for change.

The leaders of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and its four core institutes appeared together on stage last week to talk about their work on behalf of democracy, free enterprise and workers’ rights.

It’s 8:30 AM and Fatiha* is walking into the Moroccan Parliament. In a few minutes, she’s scheduled to sit down with her member of parliament (MP) for their weekly one-on-one meeting. Fatiha plans to propose a new strategy to increase the MP’s social media visibility. By 9 AM, Fatiha is at her desk putting the final touches on a Facebook update to publicize the MP’s visit to a local market, which falls in line with her proposed new social media strategy. “I have enormously appreciated the exchanges with [my MP].

Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) and NDI President Kenneth Wollack spoke about the relationship between democracy and global stability during the second annual Capitol Hill National Security Forum, highlighting the fact that non-democratic societies are more likely to harbor terrorists, experience citizen displacement that results in refugee flows, and engage in violent conflict than their democratic counterparts.

The Open Internet for Democracy Initiative (OIDI) announced the selection of the first cohort of open internet advocates for the Open Internet for Democracy Leaders Program. The six outstanding leaders (see their profiles below) were chosen from nearly two hundred applicants, and represent a diverse group of global advocates from local civic, media, and private sector organizations that are passionate about protecting and promoting an open internet.

“Advancing democracy reflects our values and is an important means of advancing America’s interests and protecting our national security in a turbulent and often violent world,” said NDI president Kenneth Wollack in testimony this week before the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs. This was a full committee hearing entitled Democracy Promotion in a Challenging World and the discussion was a broad overview of both the hurdles and successes in fragile states.